::She hadn't expected the person on the other end to be Quick. He had sounded so... well drunk I guess would explain it all... But still, she did a double take to make sure it really WAS Quick and not...say...that other gentleman with the vampire problem from earlier...
Once she was certain it was him, she approached him cautiously trying to get close before making herself known.::
As the drunks continued to laugh at seemingly nothing, Quick's gaze eventually fell on Neko and echo of his laughter slowly died, leaving only a somber grin on his face.
"Oi, I tink dat's it fer me, boys. I'm startin' ter seee da kitty again."
This prompted the rest of the bar flowers to turn, with drunk fueled grins, and point to Neko. Almost all at once they began to laugh excessively as if the Hatching had jester's makeup on.
"I-I can see her too! Damnit, Quick, yuv gone and gave us ya loonies!" one man managed to say out loud in the middle of laughing. The others gave similar exclamations as if they had caught some sort bug just by being around Quick.
She blew a stray bit of hair from her face and stopped just short of crossing her arms and stomping her foot. What stopped her was the thought that perhaps she could use this to her advantage...
With a weak smile she stepped forward and moved as if to assist Quick in leaving the Tavern. If he let her help him, she would use the opportunity to "pat him down" to check and see if he still had the card...
-Come along now, Quick. Time to be heading home, don't you think?- ::
As Neko tried to carry the mess that was Grayson, she felt movement underneath his coat. His weapon began to shift from its rest position as soon as Neko tried to help him. Within an instant the four serpents lashed out and coiled around the Hatching, one per limb.
She was hoisted into the air with a less than pleased Quick below her.
"How many times do I got to send you on your way before you stop plaguing me?" he said, surprisingly well given his state. His face spoke anger, and his eyes looked at Neko as if she were a nuisance.
The other men around the bar suddenly stood up from their stools in surprise, not sure if all that they were seeing was an illusion.
::She was surprised by the response, and in that surprise her instincts for survival nearly took over.
Her hands and feet bound, she had but one way to act against the act and her subconcious was already reaching out to the darkness about the man. The shadows covering his person flickered and shifted before she was able to gain control of her actions and ease the bond between her and the darkness.
Not completely... She knew she may need to defend herself should this all go bad, but enough to keep them in check and hopfully unnoticed.
-Let me down, Quick. I only wanted to help. And to get what's mine.-
Mostly she meant the bracer and whatever pay they got from the Tali, but she had not given up on the card yet either. ::
The other bar patrons didn't know what was going on between the two mercenaries, with a few brave souls daring to speak,
"Quick, I think we's not seeing tings..."
The Sellsword captain looked between Neko and the people around him, all giving him looks like he lost his mind. He may as well have as his expression changed to realization.
The chains slowly let down Neko and the metal serpents retreated back to their master. As they finished receding, Quick slumped to the ground barely hanging by a bar stool, looking like he had quite enough.
You....I thought you had died all those weeks ago.
::She should have felt relief at being released from the bonds of Quick's weapon, but really all she could feel right now was dumbfounded awkwardness...
-Wha? Wait...HUH?! Weeks? WEEKS?!
I thought the portal would be imediate!
What the FLARB happened? Did the shippment make it through? Where's the card?!-
She could have gone on with a million more questions, but she was just too stunned. She was glancing about at everything and nothing in particular as she tried to process the implications.
She supposed she should be happy to even be here at all or that it was only weeks. So much could have changed...::
Confused and just a bit concerned that the Hatching was throwing a silent tantrum of sorts, the patrons decided that most of them had had just about enough and slowly walked out of the bar.
Quick, on the other hand, sat there at the floor near the bar looking like he just found a comfortable spot to throw up in. The merc captain was about ready to pass out and only responded to Neko's questions with muffled gibberish.
Even his mind was slowly shutting down as he didn't even bother to communicate telepathically.
She stepped closer to Quick, wary of his chains, and reached for the arm that he wore her bracer on tentatively. Should the chains not react, she will try to pull him to his feet once more. Perhaps if she sobered him up some he would be more help... Otherwise she would have to try and remove her bracer and leave him for another time.::
Though with a few grunts, Quick is raised to his feet by Neko. The mercenary captain however is a bit on the heavy side with the amount of clothing and gear he carries and is not able to stand properly on his wobbly legs. The captain smelled heavily of alcohol and his clothes didn't feel very clean. You could almost get knocked out by the stench of ale alone.
He mutters something at Neko but it is barely recognizable as speech, much less a word that people would use.
"Friend of yours, miss?" said the bartender, "He comes here almost every night now drinking himself half to death before going off in the middle of the night."
::She gives a nod in answer as she tries to adjust the weight of Quick to make it easier to move him.
Reaching into her pouch with one hand she grabs a few coins and tosses them on the bar, hoping it would be enough to cover whatever tab the mercenary had built up before trying to get him moving towards the door. As she moves him she's feeling about cautiosly to see if he still might have the card on him.
With deft hands, Neko manages to find, and presumably, takes the cursed card away from Quick. After a long drag back to his ship, Quick barely manages a wave before sinking into the bowels of his vessel, leaving the Cathian to ponder the relic she holds in her hand.
If Neko went to the Talady company the next day, Kriss would be more than a little surprised to see her. He remarked something about being 'dead' and missing for weeks. Apparently she was counted among the fatalities along the trade route as reported by Quick.
"You are long overdue for your pay, but, better late than never, yes? Grayson did say you fought valiantly to protect our cargo."
While in the office, and as Kriss gathered her pay, the vault sitting on the wall behind his desk had a sort of glow emanating from within. The Talissi didn't seem to notice it at all, and Neko could feel a sort of resonance coming from the card she snagged from Quick.
"Here you are, 500 gp. I had to deduct a bit due to your tardiness but still a good bit of coin, yes? Now, if you would please leave there is still much business to conduct."
______________________
Reward:
500 gp 10 Acclaim
Deck of Solomon: Oblivion Card -Part of an ancient relic, the Oblivion card is among the most powerful in the deck of 22 ancient magical cards. The effect when drawn from the full deck is unknown, but researchers believe that this was the first card that King Solomon drew and sealed his fate. -Once per adventure teleport to a location of your knowledge -At the GM's discretion the teleport may fail in any number of ways suited to him/her
Last Edit: Jan 7, 2014 10:41:14 GMT -5 by Serenity
::Neko bowed in acceptance of her pay and as a farewell. Curiosity nagged at her over the odd feeling she got from the glow within the safe but it was quickly overrun by the rampant thoughts of her long delay in returning and what all could have happened in her absence.
These were secrets that would have to be revealed another time...::